The Valley Advocate

12/05/2024

‘Home for the Holi-gays’ blends drag show with musical theater in Turners Falls

TURNERS FALLS — Joe Dulude II as “Mr. Drag” and the rest of his drag family return with a fresh take on the story of “A Christmas Carol” during Eggtooth Productions’ eighth annual holiday drag show called “Home for the Holi-gays” this...

11/29/2024

Spinning a new chapter: Couple moves Deep Thoughts Record Shop to Northampton from Jamaica Plain

NORTHAMPTON — Walking into Deep Thoughts Record Shop on Market Street, one first notices the sounds emanating from the store’s speakers. Sometimes it’s the cacophony of avant-garde jazz music, other times it can be the more familiar voice of Phil...

11/25/2024

LGBTQ organizations unite in wake of election

In the days following the presidential election, local LGBTQ organizations began hosting support sessions to help foster community amid rising fears that a second Trump administration will rollback the progress made on rights and legal protections...

11/15/2024

An inviting addition: Amherst College students creating new mural at Senior Center featuring the diversity of town’s elders

AMHERST — Represented on a mural taking up an entire wall in the Senior Center lounge at the Bangs Community Center, an Amherst senior citizen is shown portraying singer Elvis Presley, with musical notes flowing from his guitar displayed against a...

10/30/2024

Plans for new cannabis dispensary moving along in Sunderland

SUNDERLAND – With a special permit amendment, a retail cannabis dispensary’s plans to open early next year at 267 Amherst Road are moving along. Altai Alternative Care Inc. received unanimous approval from the Zoning Board of Appeals on Oct. 23 to...

10/28/2024

A Community Tradition Since 1988
Bag Day started as a fun and easy way to support Northampton retailers, restaurants and service providers in a local kick off to the holiday shopping season.
To Learn more: https://ow.ly/9FFN50TUm6h

10/26/2024

What can you expect from a Cuddle Party? Conversations about consent happen before anything else

By MELISSA KAREN SANCES For the Advocate As the sun sets over the Hidden Temple in Florence, 14 adults in their comfiest pajamas sprawl on a...

10/25/2024

By dessert, ‘You’re in outer space’: Chef Matthew Brehm caters multi-course cannabis-infused meals in the Valley

A local chef is bringing a new meaning to the phrase “getting baked.”Chef Matthew Brehm is the owner of Upscale Cannabis Wine Dinners, which provides catered brunches and dinners with weed-infused dishes. He operates out of western Massachusetts, but...

10/25/2024

Prepare to be transported back to your youth: Thornes is about to open an extensive arcade of vintage video games

By CAROLYN BROWN Staff Writer An arcade near Boston will soon have a new location in Northampton. Hometown Arcade will open its third location in...

10/24/2024

Inside the witch house: Horror filmmaking couple Aaron Fradkin and Victoria Fratz Fradkin set their most recent, ‘Beezel,’ in Northampton

By JENNIFER LEVESQUE For the Advocate It’s always spooky season when you have a love for horror movies, scary stories and a curiosity of anything...

10/23/2024

Rock for all: Whole Children’s resident Friendship Band to perform alongside indie rockers Yo La Tengo at 20th anniversary concert, The Bash, Oct. 23

By CAROLYN BROWN Staff Writer The Northampton organization Whole Children, which serves people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, will celebrate its 20th anniversary with indie rock band Yo La Tengo at 33 Hawley on Wednesday, Oct. 23, at 6:30 p.m. At the event, called “The Bash,” ...

09/19/2024

Two heads are better than one: Northampton Center for the Arts appoints co-directors

The Northampton Center for the Arts recently announced the appointment of Kelly Silliman and Heather Geoffrey as its new co-directors.Silliman, a dancer and educator, was program director at the Center since 2017, prior to stepping into her new role....

08/28/2024

Curated for your viewing and listening pleasure: Amherst Cinema presents Sound & Vision series through Sept. 18

By SCOTT MERZBACH Staff Writer A documentary profiling Swing-era clarinetist Artie Shaw, a musical comedy featuring 1960s-pop band The Monkees and...

08/28/2024

Messages from beyond?: Local psychics ‘channeling the truth’ and spirits of the dead

By ELISE LINSCOTT For the Advocate ‘The first thing I felt was cancer … she said ‘I was tired and there was no way back,’ which is pretty common for cancer,” South Hadley-based psychic medium and fiction writer Lisa Lanno said to a room of about 50 people one recent Thursday night at the G...

08/22/2024

Would you eat food off of a naked body?: Local event, Food & Form, has nothing – and everything – to do with nudity
https://ow.ly/hkoC50T4szs

08/16/2024

Crafty ideas brewing: Montague resident turns Kei mini truck into ‘KEIgerator’ mobile brewery

MONTAGUE — Chad Champoux is blending his passions for craft beer and unique vehicles, after he felt inspired to make a brewery on wheels while watching a TV show.Champoux has been involved in the brewing industry since 2012 and currently works at...

08/09/2024

Museum consortium to invest $600K in training to promote careers in the field

Member institutions of Museums10, a consortium of 10 museums located across the Pioneer Valley, is investing more than $600,000 into professional training development for staff members and student interns to promote career advancement in the museum...